Haunted
by SuperNerdGirl24
Summary: One year after the summer of Weirdmageddon, Dipper and Mabel return to Gravity Falls for another summer with their great uncles. But on the first night there, Dipper's dreams are haunted by an old foe, where he learns that he and his family may nit be as safe as they thought. Can Stan and Ford protect the kids, or was it mistake for them to return? All feedback welcome!
1. chapter 1

**A/N:** **Hi, everybody! i just finished binging Gravity Falls. It was the first time I saw any of season 2 it caused me too many emotions and now I have no idea what to do with my life, so here's a fic for you! Hope you like it! I have no idea how long I'll end up making this. But I have at least a chaper or two worth of ideas at the moment. enjoy!!** **~Amanda**

That unmistakable cackle rang in Dipper's ears before the world around him went grey. A moment later, he was faced with the demon known as Bill Cipher.

"Hiya, Pine Tree! Did you miss me?" Asked the irritating triangle with an equally irritating voice. His evil laughter filled the air once more as he snapped his fingers, causing Dipper to be lifted off the grey ground. Dipper hopelessly floated upward and upside down until he was eye level with his adversary.

"Bill!" Dipper exclaimed. He tried to sound angry, but on the inside, he was terrified! It had been a year since the summer of Weirdmageddon, and he thankfully hadn't seen or heard from Bill since. "What are you doing here?! We erased you from reality!"

Bill's mocking laughter erupted once more. "Sure ya did, kid. But in case you haven't noticed, we're in your dreams, dummy!" With another snap of the triangle demon's fingers, Dipper plummeted back to the earth and landed with a thud.

Dipper stood up and dusted himself off. "Why now?" He shouted up to Bill "This whole time I was in California, you never haunted my dreams!"

Bill floated down and circled around Dipper. "You really don't get it, do ya, Pine Tree?" He mocked.

"No! I really don't!" Dipper admitted angrily. "You made me think I was rid of you for good, But then the first day I'm back in Gravity Falls!" Dipper paused. His eyes widened. "The day I'm back in Gravity Falls..."

"Now you're gettin it. Even though I'm no longer a part of reality at the moment, I'm still bound to this stupid town somehow." Explained Bill, still circling Dipper. "Thank goodness you're back, though. It was getting pretty dull to only have your uncle Ford to pick on. And even then, the old six-fingered spoilsport wouldn't let me in his conscious mind, so I could only do it at night." Bill explained. "That is, when he let himself go to sleep." He added with a small chuckle. He stopped circling to look Dipper in the eye. And if he had a mouth, Dipper was sure that it would've been curled upward in an evil smirk as he added the next part, "Now with you and your sister back in town, I can have loads of fun!"

"You stay away from my sister!" Dipper yelled, charging at the yellow menace, but right before Dipper would've made contact, Bill vanished, leaving Dipper diving into the ground.

Bill was nowhere to be seen, but his laugh echoed through the landscape. "Try and stop me, kid! See ya soon, Pine Tree!" And with that, the grey world around him faded to black.

Dipper jumped awaked with a startled shout. He looked across the room to see his twin fast asleep with her back to him. Her beloved pig, Waddles was snuggled against her back. He was relieved to see she was okay. But then the thought crossed his mind: Bill could be in her dreams terrorizing her right now! A wave of panic hit him at the thought. "Mabel, wake up!" He yelled. His sister yawned and stretched. "What's the matter?" She asked, sleepily, as she rubbed her eyes and rolled over. But when her eyes opened, Dipper was horrified to see that they were yellow with cat-like slits for pupils. An evil grin formed on her mouth, "Have a bad dream?"

Dipper screamed in horror.

He jumped awake screaming again. This time, Mabel was by his bed side, concern on her face. Dipper was still in a panic. Still screaming, he started flailing his arms at Mabel. She grabbed him by the wrists, "Hey! Whoa, Dipper! Dipper, calm down! It's me, Mabel!" Dipper stopped screaming, and looked at her eyes. They were normal. He was breathing heavily from his panicking. Mabel let go of his wrists. "There. See? You're fine." She said, holding her hands up in front of her as if taming a wild animal.

Dipper took a deep breath of relief. It was all a dream. "Sorry, Mabel. I thought you were Bill." He explained.

Mabel's eyes widened. "Bill Cipher?" She asked, her expression mirroring the terror he felt moments ago.

He realized he shouldn't have scare his sister just before she had to go back to sleep, but then on the other hand, maybe it was a good idea to warn her. "Yeah. But hey, don't worry. It was just a stupid dream." He said, attempting to comfort his twin. But she hugged her knees to her chest and looked at the floor.

Before he could say anything else, their great uncle Ford burst in the door. "Kids! Is everything alright? I heard shouting."

"We're fine, Gruncle Ford. I just had a stupid dream, and accidentally woke up Mabel." Dipper told his uncle. He decided not to tell him the while truth about his dream just yet. He looked at his uncle's face; a face of pure exhaustion. _'And even then, the old six-fingered spoilsport wouldn't let me in his conscious mind, so I could only do it at night.'_ Bill's mocking words from before echoed in Dipper's mind. _'That is, when he let himself go to sleep.'_ That must've been why Ford heard the commotion while Stan didn't. He was already awake. Because sleeping made him vulnerable to Bill. Dipper hadn't noticed it before, but the poor guy looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"You're sure you're alright?" Ford asked again, his expression showing his concern for his niece and nephew.

Dipper decided that he needn't add cause any more worry for his uncle. Not tonight, anyway. He nodded. "We're fine." He answered. They both looked expectantly to Mabel, who was playing with her hair and avoiding eye contact. Dipper felt horrible for scaring her, but he hoped she would help him in sparing their Uncle any more worry. To his relief, she nodded wordlessly.

"Okay," said Ford, seemingly satisfied with their response. "You kids try to get some sleep." He said, walking out the door.

"Hey, you too, Gruncle Ford." Dipper said sincerely.

Ford paused and gave his best effort at a quick half smile at his nephew. "Of course, Dipper. I'll try." He lied. He Then walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Still apparently no longer in the mood to talk, Mabel silently pushed herself off the floor and back into bed. She put her back once more toward her brother, but didn't close her eyes. Dipper sighed and sank back into his pillows. He didn't close his eyes either, instead he stated at the ceiling. He'll talk to Ford tomorrow, he decided. Bill's laughter rang distantly in his head. He doubted that Mabel or Ford were going to sleep, and neither was he. It seemed Stan and was the only one in the house getting any sleep that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ford's POV:**

Ford walked out of the twins' room and closed the door with a deep sigh. _If the kids said they're fine, then they're fine_ , he thought to himself. Mabel did look pretty upset, though. He wanted to ask once more if she was alright, but he didn't want to pry. She might not have told him, anyway. _She seems to have an easier time opening_ up to Stan, Ford thought sadly. But he decided to let that go for the moment. "You coward," he scolded himself as he made his way back to his room. "You should've warned them!" Although he couldn't be sure that a certain triangular demon was responsible for waking up his niece and nephew, he still should've told them by now.

He thought about Dipper telling him to get some sleep. He shook his head. "No. I can't!" He let out another sigh. On the other hand, if Bill was in his dreams, then he couldn't torment Dipper and Mabel. He would do anything for those kids. Even if it meant enduring a night of his mind being tortured by Bill. He laid down in bed. "Alright, Cipher," He called into the empty room. "Do your worst!" Then for the first time in what felt like weeks, Ford willingly closed his eyes. He heard the all too familiar sound of twisted laughter as he started to drift to sleep, submitting himself to the monster waiting for him in his nightmares.

Ford awoke in the morning mentally exhausted from Bill's visit. Even physically. Somehow after every time he faced Bill in his dreams, he ended up awaking with sore muscles. It felt like he didn't sleep at all. But that didn't matter. He kept Bill away from the kids. He pushed himself out of bed, cleaned up, got dressed, then headed downstairs. His brother was already making breakfast. Ford grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to read the newspaper.

"Sleepin' in, eh Poindexter?" Stan said by way of greeting.

A puzzled look painted Ford's face as he sipped his coffee. "It's not that late, is it, Stanley?" He inquired, glancing at his watch.

Stan continued flipping pancakes. "I'm just sayin, you're usually up and about long before I am." Suddenly Ford realized. The only reason Stan finds Ford awake so early is because he keeps himself awake all night. But Stan didn't know that. And that wasn't the only thing Stan didn't know. Ford felt a pang of guilt for keeping secrets from his family.

Nevertheless, he played along. "Of course. Your right, I did sleep in more than usual."

Just then, Mabel walked into the kitchen. "Mornin', Pumpkin." Greeted Stan fondly. "Hungry for some pancakes?"

Mabel simply said, "mhmm." And sat at the table across from Ford. Ford glanced up from his paper and shared a concerned look with Stan. She was lacking her usual spirit that normally brought so much energy to the home. She rested her cheek on one hand and with the other, spun her fork around on the table.

Ford set his newspaper down. "Mabel, are you alright?" He asked.

She looked up and met his gaze. She gave him a halfhearted smile as she responded, "I'm fine, Grunkle Ford. I just didn't sleep very well." He could've sworn he recognized the very same look He often saw in the mirror after one of his sleepless nights. There must be more that the kids aren't telling him.

 **Dipper's POV:**

Dipper must've dosed off at some point during the night. He awoke to find his sister's bed empty. She undoubtedly got no sleep. He felt terrible for scaring her. _I should've stayed up with her._ He thought. Luckily, after he fell back asleep, he didn't get another visit from Bill. Which he found slightly odd, but he wasn't complaining. He got up and went downstairs.

His family was already eating breakfast. He sat down and put a few pancakes on his plate and began eating. Dipper noticed that Stan spent all of breakfast telling his worst, cheesiest jokes. The kind that Mabel likes. She must've still been upset when she came down. Stan's terrible jokes seemed to be working though, because Mabel was laughing. She seemingly forgot all that was troubling her before. It made Dipper not want to bring up the topic of worry. But he had to. He had to be honest with Ford. Stan got up to take the dishes to the sink and lovingly ruffled Mabel's hair as he walked by.

When Stan was busy at the sink, Dipper turned to Ford. "Grunkle Ford, I wasn't completely honest with you last night." Ford's brow furrowed with confusion at first, but Dipper continued, "It wasn't just some stupid dream that woke me up." He paused and glanced at his sister before he finished. "It was Bill."

Stan almost dropped the plate he was washing, "Bill?" He questioned furiously. Then he turned his angry gaze on Ford. "You got something you wanna tell me, Stanford?" He demanded, walking towards his twin.

Ford's eyes widened at his brother's temper. He stood and held his hands up defensively. "Now calm down Stanley. I can explain." Stan stopped and folded his arms. There was a look of barely contained outrage in his eyes, but he waited for Ford to explain.

"Now I haven't exactly been honest with all of you either. And I'm sorry." He looked at each of his family members apologetically. "Last summer when we defeated Bill and banished him from our dimension, he somehow found a way to uh, put his foot in the door, so to speak." Stan stood motionless. The same furry on his face as before, patiently waiting for Ford to finish. "You see, after Weirdmageddon was over, I went down to my lab to run some tests to make sure we were in the clear. That's when I discovered a tiny fracture between our dimension and Bill's."

Mabel gasped. "Wha-" Dipper started.

Ford held up a hand to silence both of them. "Now, it's not big enough for Bill to enter our reality again. And I don't think it ever will be, but-"

"You don't 'think' it will?!" Stan cut him off. "It's gonna take a lot more than 'think', Stanford!"

"I know Stanley. Please! Just let me finish." Ford said, the slightest bit of irritation in his voice. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I know that's a chance we can't take, Stanley. That's why I've been spending all year trying to close it. The fact is, if Bill can still enter our dreams, he's still a threat."

Dipper opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. This was all too much. Bill was still a threat?

"Kids, go upstairs. Ford and I need to talk." Stan said quietly, not taking his eyes off of Ford. "But, Grunkle Stan!" Dipper protested. He needed to talk too. Stan finally turned to the kids. "Upstairs!" He demanded. Dipper was angry, but he knew better than to argue with Stan. "Come on, Mabel. Let's go." He took his sister and went upstairs.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying my story! I'll post more as soon as I have more!** **~Amanda**


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